SEO uncovered: Being seen online

We may (almost) be halfway through 2017, but the SEO world is yet to see a major Google update this year.

While we wait for news on the next big search engine change, we’ve taken a look at some of the most recent algorithm updates and the impact they’ve had on SEO.

Dan

26th June 2017

Google Hummingbird update

This is the most recent Google search engine algorithm and plays a significant role in deciding the ranking of websites. Hummingbird focuses on every word in a user’s search, this means that Google tries to match search results which match full phrases, or sentences, rather than stand-alone keywords.

So, what does this mean for you? Quite simply, it’s all about providing quality, relevant content, and not ‘keyword stuffing’. Make sure you tailor your content to what a user would be looking to find an answer too, and don’t just focus on optimising for a single keyword or phrase. In doing so, you’ll be ranked better and have some happy users visit your site.

Google Penguin update

The first of Google’s Penguin changes was launched in 2012, with the aim of reducing the number of ‘spam’ websites who used ‘black hat’ SEO techniques. But what is ‘black hat’ SEO exactly and why is this bad practise? It’s the purchase of multiple links back to your website, often from poor quality or spam websites in an attempt to gain a quick win in rankings. Stop right there! – Penguin put an end to this and such backlinks are now judged on their quality and relevancy to your audience. If you don’t provide what your audience is looking for, you will be penalised! Hopefully you’ve never used these tactics, but if you have and are still suffering the consequences, let us know and we can help.

Google Panda update

Google’s Panda update, unfortunately, isn’t as cute as this sneezing panda. It was released to reward websites that provide great content. It penalised websites that were ‘stuffed’ with keywords and rewards websites that provide users with great content that’s related to their search.

Google 'Mobilegeddon' Friendly update

Today, users rely on mobile devices for the majority of their online activities, so it’s only natural that Google is ensuring they are provided with quality mobile results. In 2015, Google released an update that penalises websites that aren’t mobile responsive. This sets out a different set of results for mobile, tablet and desktop searches and, if you don’t have a responsive website, you could be penalised in those results.

Obviously, SEO and search engines use many other indexing factors, but if you have a responsive website, that’s built well, with great content and good quality links then you’re on the road to success with SEO.

If you think that you’ve ticked all these boxes, but don’t feel you are seeing the rewards in your rankings, or need some support in any of these areas, our SEO team are on hand to help. Get in touch with Dan to discuss anything further – dan.murphy@bluestormdesign.co.uk